Do not judge

Abba Poemen said that Abba Paphnutius used to say, "During the whole lifetime of the old men, I used to go to see them twice a month, although it was a distance of twelve miles. I told them each of my thoughts and they never answered me anything but this, 'Wherever you go, do not judge yourself and you will be at peace'."

God is here, God is everywhere

Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, 'One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirsty and I said to Abba Bessarion, "Father, I am very thirsty." He said a prayer and said to me, "Drink some of the sea water." The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, "Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on." Then the old man said, "God is here, God is everywhere."'

Enemies and Friends

Dear brother,

This post is outside the normal set of sources we use but I feel compelled to post it because it speaks so deeply to my situation and it is certianly in keeping with the spirit of the desert fathers. Friday was a beastly day at the office and I left angry and upset (Lord forgive me). I came to work this morning struggling to get my heart right about being here and stumbled across this in a post from Fr. Stephen. It's not the first time I have read this prayer by Nikolaj Velimirovich but I was particulary convicted by it this morning. May God grant us such grace.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.
Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.
They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.
They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.
Ruly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitter against me:

so that my fleeing to You may have no return;
so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;
so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;
so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;
so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;
ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.

It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.

Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.

A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands.

For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life.

Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.

The breaking of the heart

St. Mark the Ascetic Says:

"To brood on evil makes the heart brazen; but to destroy evil through self-restraint and hope breaks the heart.

There is a breaking of the heart which is gentle and makes it deeply penitent, and there is a breaking which is violent and harmful, shattering it completely.

Vigils, prayer and patient acceptance of what comes constitutes a breaking that does not harm but benefits the heart, provided we do not destroy the balance between them through excess. He who perseveres in them will be helped in other ways as well; but he who is slack and negligent will suffer intolerably on leaving this life."

Interpretation of Scripture

St. Mark the Ascetic says:

"Do not grow conceited about your interpretations of Scripture, lest your intellect fall victim to blasphemy."

Reading the Scriptures

St. Mark the Ascetic says:

"When reading the Holy Scriptures, he who is humble and engaged in spiritual work will apply everything to himself and not to someone else."

About This Blog

During the 400-year period from 3rd to 6th centuries (200-599 AD) the Desert Fathers migrated to various deserts in the Middle East where they strove for an uncompromising obedience to the word and to the spirit of the Gospel. They received the challenge of the Gospel with all earnestness and wanted to respond to it uncompromisingly, as generously as God, with their whole selves. They sought to respond to God's infinite and sacrificial love by giving Him love in return. They heard -- and responded to -- the clarion call, "Renounce yourself, take up your Cross, and follow Me." For the Desert Fathers, this meant: The King of Love -- Jesus Christ -- their Lord and Savior must be enthroned in our mind and heart, take undivided possession of our will, and make of our very bodies the Temples of the Holy Spirit.

For the Desert Fathers, this goal was both extraordinarily simple, and incredibly difficult, a life-long endeavor to which all else was subordinated. This small particle of the Cosmos, which is our body and soul, must be conquered, freed by a lifelong struggle from enslavement to the world and to the devil, freed as if it were an occupied country desperately needing to be restored to its legitimate king. (--reference needed)

This blog is a place for two friends striving to live out the spiritual life in the spiritual waste land of the modern urban city to share with one another (and whoever else may find value in it) quotes from some of these desert luminaries. We intend to limit the number of posts to no more than 3 or 4 a week to give time for rumination and reflection surrounding each quote. The intention is not just to collect a bunch of nice sayings but rather to share them in hopes of "stirring one another up toward love and good deeds" as the writer to the Hebrews says. Unless necessitated by the obscurity of terms or ideas to our modern ears we intend to post without commentary and let these giants speak for themselves. We try to provide links to more information about the authors or short descriptions about them.

Comments are welcome and at present unmoderated. However, this is intended to be a place of spiritual exhortation and challenge, NOT theological debate. We reserve the right to remove and censure comments that do not abide by this simple objective.

In closing, remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock." -Matt. 7:24

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Update: 2014

In the last few months a third friend has joined this blogging group.  And with his addition the focus of the blog has shifted slightly.  While quotes from the Fathers will continue to be a part of this we also will be posting some of our own reflections and writings.  The primary purpose of encouraging one another has not changed.  Again, comments are responses are welcome.

The double edge of vain glory

John Cassian writes:

"The vice of self-esteem (vain glory), however, is difficult to fight against, because it has many forms and appears in all our activities - in our way of speaking, in what we say and in our silences, at work, in vigils and fasts, in prayer and reading, in stillness and long-suffering. Through all these it seeks to strike down the soldier of Christ. When it cannot seduce a man with extravagant clothes, it tries to tempt him by means of shabby ones. When it cannot flatter him with honor, it inflates him by causing him to endure what seems to be dishonor. When it cannot persuade him to feel proud of his display of eloquence, it entices him through silence into thinking he has achieved stillness. When it cannot puff him up with the thought of his luxurious table, it lures him into fasting for the sake of praise... He should not do anything with a view to being praised by other people, but should seek God's reward only, always rejecting the thoughts of self-praise that enter his heart, and always regarding himself as nothing before God."

The Tongue

A brother questioned Abba Matoes saying, "What am I to do? My tongue makes me suffer, and every time I go among men I cannot control it. What am I to do?" The old man replied, "If you cannot contain yourself, flee into solitude. For this is a sickness." He went on, "It is not through virtue that I live in solitude but through weakness; those who live in the midst of men are the strong ones."